CPT code 19085: Breast biopsy, first lesion, MRI guidance2026 Medicare rate & RVUs in Alaska

In Alaska, Medicare pays $811.08 for 19085 in the office and $206.71 when it’s performed in a hospital or facility.

Check a contract rate as a % of Medicare · 19085 nationwide

Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.

What 19085 covers

This service covers percutaneous sampling of a breast lesion located and targeted with magnetic resonance imaging, typically when the lesion is not adequately accessible for targeting by ultrasound or mammography. A radiologist or other qualified breast imager guides a biopsy needle to the lesion, obtains tissue, and may place a marker clip and image the specimen. The code represents the biopsy with MRI guidance, not a diagnostic breast MRI alone or surgical removal of the lesion.

Report 19085 for the first lesion sampled with MRI guidance; report 19086 for each additional lesion sampled with that guidance. The record should support the targeted lesion, MRI guidance, tissue sampling, and any marker placement or specimen imaging performed. CMS assigns a 0-day global period, so same-day preoperative and postoperative care is included. In a same-session multiple-procedure claim, the highest-valued procedure is paid in full and others at 50%; bilateral reporting with modifier 50 is paid at 150%. Assistant-at-surgery payment requires documented medical necessity; co-surgeons and team surgery are not permitted.

This summary was written with AI assistance from CMS physician fee schedule data and checked against the CMS billing rules shown here. Rates on this page come directly from CMS files.

How Alaska compares for 19085

Across 109 of 109 payment localities, the office rate for 19085 runs from $630.14 in Arkansas to $986.53 in San Benito County, CA. Alaska pays $811.08. The RVUs are the same everywhere; the geographic indexes change the dollars.

Every other payment area

19085 rates by state

Office rate range in each state. Select a state to see its payment localities.

See 19085 in every payment locality

How the 19085 rate is calculated

Each of 19085’s three RVUs is multiplied by a geographic index (GPCI) for the payment locality, added up, and multiplied by the conversion factor. Drag the indexes or enter a ZIP to see what moves the rate.

Payment rules and modifiers for 19085

The CMS indicators that decide how 19085 is paid alongside other services.

What modifiers do to the payment

When to use modifier 50

Codes related to 19085

Related codes aren’t interchangeable: bill the code that matches the service performed.

How 19085 has changed in Alaska

Price 19085 for an earlier date of service

Where the Alaska rate applies

Alaska is a Medicare payment area, not a city. Our Census mapping connects it to 355 cities and communities in Alaska. Some span more than one payment area; confirm with the service ZIP.

• Adak
• Akhiok
• Akiachak
• Akiak
• Akutan
• Alakanuk
• Alatna
• Alcan Border

Browse all communities in Alaska

Where these rates come from

FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indexes and the conversion factor. Services without a published rate are labeled, never given a made-up amount. Amounts are Medicare allowed amounts before claim adjustments: not a patient’s bill or a commercial rate.

CMS RVU26D · effective Oct 1, 2026 through the day before Jan 1, 2027

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates